Drowning on Dry Land, Jermyn Street Theatre

Modest revival of Ayckbourn's prescient play about celebrity culture

There’s a fascinating programme note for this production of Drowning on Dry Land, taken from an interview given by its author for the play's premiere at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. Back in 2004, Alan Ayckbourn told The Yorkshire Evening Press: "There will be a day not long ahead when everyone will have their own website with pictures that say, 'Here’s me in the bath'."

Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio and Street, National Portrait Gallery

British Museum Underground Station: 'a terrific evocation of a lost world'

A lost world regained by an extraordinary eye

If you’ve seen pictures of the Ballets Russes, then you’ve seen Hoppé photographs. But then, if you’ve seen any society pictures from the 1920s and 1930s, then you’ve seen Hoppé. And famous writers. In fact, for portrait photography in Britain between the World Wars, you can pretty well bet the photo is Hoppé’s. But what's so good about this new exhibition is that it shows a side to Hoppé that is much less well-known - the street-view. And these photographs are thrilling, in form as well as content.

Graham Norton comes to your local

Amira Hashish: part of a generation of performers forging their own path
Every now and then an idea comes along so perfectly formed that you think, “I wish I’d thought of that.” And so it is with The London Chat Show, one of the many exciting projects being developed by young urban arts professionals who come into the industry at a time when public funding continues to dwindle and major arts venues play increasingly safe with their programming. These self-starting individuals deserve not a little admiration and a lot of support as they keep live performance going, often on a shoestring and giving all profits to charity.

Anna Nicole, Royal Opera

New opera from Mark-Anthony Turnage and Richard Thomas has its attractions

Look past the cum buckets, the trucker pussy, the fuck you-ing and cunt-hungry beasting (librettist Richard Thomas's words, not mine), the mountainous titties and cheap promotional candy that had been confected for the legions of rubbishy celebrity opera virgins scattered in the Royal Opera House audience at last night's world premiere and you will find a profoundly conservative, and mostly not unattractive, new opera in Anna Nicole.

John Barry, 1933-2011: Musician with the Midas touch

From Bond to Body Heat, an epic career in music for the movies

“When you write for film, the dialogue is like the voice, if you like, and I always consider that as part of the music,” said John Barry, who died on 30 January. “Certain orchestral textures have to match the texture of the scene. You deal with the lightness and darkness of the scene when you write music for cinema. The film is a part of the score, and you can't get away from that.

Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait/ Dispatches: Fish Unwrapped, Channel 4

Inside the shark-fishing industry: it's not a pretty sight

With such weighty gastronauts as Heston Blumenthal, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall all aboard Channel 4's Big Fish Fight jamboree, Gordon Ramsay obviously couldn't bear to be left standing on the quay. In fact, with Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait he has made the most provocative film of the season, a punchy documentary in which the shouty superchef did some bold poking about in the hideous innards of the global trade in shark fins.

Strictly Come Dancing: The Final, BBC One

Forget costume drama, reality television is the place to go for great stories

It’s been a journey, an emotional rollercoaster, since 14 soap stars and sports personalities abandoned reality three months ago, donned a series of spandex and chiffon outfits and embarked upon the most important experience of their lives. They all gave it 110 per cent, took disappointment on the chin and came back fighting, and last night the three finalists battled it out for the ultimate prize – the Strictly Come Dancing 2010 glitterball trophy.

The Price of Everything, Stephen Joseph Theatre

Master of all he surveys: Andrew Dunn as self-made businessman Eddie in 'The Price of Everything'

Fiona Evans's new tragi-comedy examines our wealth-obsessed society

The TMA regional theatre awards are about to be announced, which makes it perfect timing to visit a nominee - one of the UK’s most influential venues, the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The SJT was the country’s first theatre in the round and has been associated with new writing since it was established, as the Library Theatre, in 1955.

Frankie Boyle, Hammersmith Apollo

Glaswegian shockmeister is very funny but bludgeons with bad-taste jokes

The last time I saw bouncers standing at the foot of the stage at a comedy venue was at a Roy "Chubby" Brown gig. Back then, I remarked how nicely behaved his fans were, as indeed were Frankie Boyle’s last night; however, another quality the two comics share is that they both score pretty highly on the offensiveness scale.

Celebrity Autobiography, Leicester Square Theatre

Wit, wisdom and narcissism of the modestly talented are hilariously laid bare

Celebrity Autobiography, like most of the world’s best ideas, is simple yet inspired. Eugene Pack’s creation, developed with Dayle Reyfel, was first seen in Los Angeles three years ago, then in New York and other American cities, and was a sellout hit at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Both creators, along with a bunch of actors and comics, appeared last night to read from various celebrities’ autobiographies. That’s all it is, folks.